I used night time diapers at night. I didnt really have a problem. You just sound pickier than me. If it wasnt a perfect fit....I didnt care. In all, they kept the kids pretty dry.
My daughter never even thought about anything except paper diapers and she's much pickier about things than I am.
I have a new question for us all...hehe. How did you potty train? Did you take it very seriously, read while child was on potty until they went or were you easygoing? As you can guess, I was easygoing...and they all got trained. My youngest daughter pulled off her her diaper and went on the potty with no prompting by 18 months. The others were trained by 2 and 3. I wasnt in any race to potty train them. My boys were harder to train. Sonic, with his autism, had an accident now and again through five, but was mostly trained and did his business in school.
Love your posts, SWOT! You make me laugh!
With old-fashioned cloth diapers, the better the fold and fit, the less chance of a mess inside baby's rubber pants, but by no means did I go out of my way to fuss and fiddle around making sure the diaper was perfect every-time I changed a bottom.
When I had two in diapers at once, I'd often fold the diapers close to the same size, and the kid who was smallest would get his or her diaper folded under at the front or back (depending on who I was changing)... thicker in the front for boys... thicker in the back for girls, and so long as I didn't poke anyone with a pin, I was happy.
As for training, I didn't start until my kids started showing signs of readiness. i.e. waking dry in the mornings, not needing changed as often through the day, pulling at their pants when wet or soiled, even asking to be changed.
In the beginning I still used diapers, but switched to training pants with rubber pants over top, that way my kids could learn how to pull their own pants down and up when they had to go.
I'd ask them (LOTS)... LOL,
do you have to go potty? Do you need to go pee-pee? Do you need too poo-poo? Of course as a mom I learned to recognize emergencies when said kid had to go RIGHT NOW, and then we'd do the mad dash! ROFL! I'd sometimes yard the kids pants down as I was packing the kid off to the bathroom! Onto the baby potty or big toilet, and if they went we'd celebrate, and if not, it was back on with their trainers, and the process would repeat itself countless times over the course of the day.
My boys were terrible, I cannot lie. I was still buying rubber pants and diapering them at night until they were in their late 3's! My daughters, not so bad, as they trained by around age 3, and they wanted NO part of wearing diapers at nighttime like a baby! LOL!
I didn't spank, make threats, or embarrass them, I just rolled with it. Some days were better than others, and on the not so good days or on days where accidents happened again and again, back on went the diapers and we tried again the next day.
I did have a few pairs of pastel coloured training pants, which I referred to as "special pants". I'd tell my kids, you can't wet or soil these, because these are big girl or big boy pants, and big girls and big boys don't wet or mess their pants like babies do, and I think that helped make them more aware when they had to go.
I do know every kid is different, as I have two nephews who wore diapers (cloth diapers with rubber pants) until they were past the age of 4, yet 3 of my nieces trained by age 2-1/2, and were completely dry and accident-free by age 3, so what works for one kid doesn't necessarily work for all.
I tell moms, be patient and it will come.